No More Obama Administration Fiscal Cliff Concessions Until the *Real* Republican Principals Show Up at the Negotiating Table

Paul Krugman:

That Old Sick Feeling: Here we go again — or so I find myself fearing. Obama’s fiscal deal offer was already distressing — cuts to Social Security, and a big concession, it turns out, on taxation of dividends, retaining most of the Bush cut (with the benefits flowing overwhelmingly to the top 1 percent). It wasn’t clear that the deal would have gotten nearly enough in return. But sure enough, it looks as if Republicans have taken the offer as a sign of weakness, as a starting point from which they can bargain Obama down. Oh, and they’re not giving up at all on the idea of using the debt ceiling for further blackmail…. [I]t’s feeling a lot like 2011 again, with the president negotiating with himself while the other side enjoys the process. So Obama needs to draw a line…. Yes, this probably means going over the cliff. So be it: it’s less bad than the alternative.

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No More Obama Administration Fiscal Cliff Concessions Until the *Real* Republican Principals Show Up at the Negotiating Table

Paul Krugman:

That Old Sick Feeling: Here we go again — or so I find myself fearing. Obama’s fiscal deal offer was already distressing — cuts to Social Security, and a big concession, it turns out, on taxation of dividends, retaining most of the Bush cut (with the benefits flowing overwhelmingly to the top 1 percent). It wasn’t clear that the deal would have gotten nearly enough in return. But sure enough, it looks as if Republicans have taken the offer as a sign of weakness, as a starting point from which they can bargain Obama down. Oh, and they’re not giving up at all on the idea of using the debt ceiling for further blackmail…. [I]t’s feeling a lot like 2011 again, with the president negotiating with himself while the other side enjoys the process. So Obama needs to draw a line…. Yes, this probably means going over the cliff. So be it: it’s less bad than the alternative.

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